BECA Class in Guatemala

Students in BECA 580 - Media and Community Service are preparing to depart for Guatemala on June 3rd. The students will produce a video for Trama Textiles, a women's weaving collective in Quetzaltenango in the Guatemalan highlands. The nine students have been preparing for the trip during the Spring 2008 Semester by hearing a series of guest speakers talk about different aspects of the country and, simultaneously, producing a video for the San Francisco Conservation Corps (SFCC). By doing the SFCC video, the students have become acquainted with one another and each other's production strengths, as well as honing their own skills. This will enable them to "hit the ground running" when they arrive in Guatemala for the three-and-a-half-week production trip.

The weaving collective supports the women, many of whom were widowed in the Guatemala civil war, and their families. The women want to use the video to explain to those who purchase their work the meaning of the weaving in the women's lives. In addition, they expect to use it to educate children in schools within Guatemala.

The BECA students return to the Bay Area on June 29th, after which they will do much of the post production work. Their aim is to send the completed video to Guatemala in September, after a screening at SFSU. For more information, please contact Dr. Betsy Blosser or Director of Production Sonia De La Cruz.